Healthy Meets Delicious

Kayla Thorpe and Katie Ericson are two University of Maryland graduates who partnered with Olipop and Wawa in May. 

Thorpe was a thrower, and Ericson was a distance runner for the track and field team. Their partnership with Olipop, the prebiotic soda company, was made possible through their involvement with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) compensation. 

Both former student-athletes have had positive experiences with NIL at Maryland and agreed to sit down for a Q&A with umterps.com.

How did you get involved with this partnership?

Thorpe: “I did the deal through 98Strong. It’s another NIL platform like Opendorse. They reached out about an opportunity with Olipop, which collaborated with Wawa.” 

Ericson: “I randomly signed up for 98Strong. It helps student-athletes get NIL deals. I got a text message one day from them, and it recommended that I apply for the deal with Olipop. I applied for it, and after a couple of weeks, I got it.” 

Were you familiar with Olipop beforehand? 

Thorpe: “I’ve seen their products before but didn’t know much about them. Once I posted the deal, a lot of people started talking about it in the comments and were saying, ‘I love Olipop.’”

Ericson: “I saw prebiotic sodas on TikTok a lot, and then I got into them. Olipop was one of the brands I consumed frequently. I thought it was cool to be able to rep a brand that I actually like.”

What flavors have you tried, and what’s your favorite?  

Thorpe: “I tried tropical punch, grape and root beer. Tropical punch is my favorite so far.”

Ericson: “The NIL deal was like specifically for Wawa having the strawberry vanilla and the root beer. But I tried all the flavors pretty much. I think my favorite is tropical punch. That's like the best one.”

What contributed to you having a positive experience?

Thorpe: “Their sodas are actually good. It’s supposed to be a healthier version of a soda. I actually have a few in my fridge right now. My coach also picked up a soda recently as well.”

Ericson: “Knowing that I was repping a brand that has an overall good message and a good culture. It’s also super popular already. I think that made it an overall good experience.”

How have you promoted the brand? 

Thorpe: “I took pictures at Wawa with the drink, and I took pictures of the drink. I took pictures with Wawa branded apples, donuts and the drink in a picture with Wawa branding in the background. I also made a video on TikTok and posted it to Instagram reels.”

Ericson: “I did an Instagram post and an Instagram story. I essentially did a photo shoot at Wawa.” 

How beneficial has it been to use various NIL platforms?

Thorpe: “I like that we're not limited to one platform. With 98Strong, the brands usually reach out to you, and it’s an easy process. I’ve got plenty of my big deals from there. Opendorse is also easy to look at different brands that interest you.” 

Ericson: “I think that's NIL is really important, especially because as student athletes, it’s difficult to have jobs. I think that having these different platforms gives student-athletes a variety of ways to have an income.”